5 Inverse ETFs Up More Than 40% In October

The month of October was scary for Wall Street, with rising interest rates, political turbulence in Italy, Saudi tensions, tech sell-offs, escalating US-China trade war and the prelude to mid-term election. All these sent Nasdaq Composite Index and S&P 500 Index into a correction territory.

However, the stocks rebounded slightly from the lowest level to close the month. Nasdaq tumbled 9.2%, its biggest monthly drop since November 2008 while the S&P 500 shed 6.9%, its biggest one-month slide since September 2011. The Dow Jones lost 5.1%, its biggest monthly fall since January 2016. However, a slew of strong earnings as well as rounds of upbeat economic data helped to lift investors’ sentiment somewhat.

The myriad woes have resulted in huge demand for inverse or leveraged inverse ETFs for investors seeking to make big gains in a short span. These products either create an inverse (opposite) position or leveraged (2x or 3x) inverse position in the underlying index through the use of swaps, options, future contracts and other financial instruments.

In fact, many products generated outsized gains (over 40%) in October despite involving a great deal of risk when compared to traditional products. Below, we have highlighted five such ETFs that crushed the market last month and should continue doing to do so at least in the near term if the same trends persist.

Direxion Daily S&P Oil & Gas Exp. & Prod. Bear 3X Shares (DRIP – Free Report) – Up 73.1%

This fund seeks three times inverse exposure of the performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index. DRIP has accumulated $67.8 million in its asset base and trades in a solid volume of around 5.2 million shares a day on average. The fund charges 95 bps in annual fees.

Direxion Daily Natural Gas Related Bear 3X Shares (GASX – Free Report) – Up 55.8%

This product provides three times inverse exposure to the ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index. It has amassed $5.2 million in its asset base and trades in solid volume of 5.2 million shares a day on average. The ETF charges 95 bps in fees per year.